Dexter Douglass, right, and David Boies share an unspoken thought during a court hearing after the 2000 presidential election. Douglass died Tuesday at the age of 83.

Written by

Diane Roberts
My View

Back in the heady days of November 2000, when Tallahassee became theater as imagined by Hunter S. Thompson channeling Shakespeare, Kafka and Gary Trudeau, the whole world was watching Dexter Douglass. As Al Gore's lawyer, he'd stand before the TV cameras with co-counsel David Boies, clarifying some byzantine point of Florida election law. Boies looked like a Persian cat who'd just won Best of Show. Dexter looked like he'd rather be in a duck blind somewhere in the woods. He'd fire off a couple of indelible quotes, then, when he'd had enough, declare he was "going home to castrate a bull calf."